Bakers Vaults, Stockport

Enjoyed our visit to this Robinson's pub where we also found a guest from Salopian brewery which was very good. Large room with high ceilings and arched windows.

Jukebox definitely works - converted for CD Use :-) Handsome grade II listed building - big windows, high ceiling, wooden floors. Didn't realise it was a Robinsons and found an unusual Butcombe Haka which was perfect. Really nice pub. Would be my local, if I lived here.

A large, modern, high-ceilinged place with hipster lights but thankfully the interior has been finished in a professional manner (though the filing cabinet print wall paper was perhaps ill-advised). Star of the show are the marvellous high arched windows which allow the place to be flooded with light, though the cuckoo clocks may win it for those of a more quirky nature. Is owned by Robbies, so I raised an eyebrow when I saw 10 pumps (four of them Robbies) and all were on. My half of Titanic Plum Porter Grand Reserve was amazing though I paid a fair whack for it - £4.30. Very busy for Friday lunchtime with a crowd largely made up of workers enjoying a long lunch. As mentioned, the high ceiling and open-plan layout means that it can get noisy very easily. Those of a particular disposition may not too enamoured by the preponderance of high tables and chairs but some standards were available. I was pretty impressed with this one, having not expected too much on entering. 7.5

This large, bare boarded pub in Stockport’s market square has clearly had a recent refurbishment, creating a smart, clean venue in the heart of the town. The place gets plenty of natural light through a series of high arched windows that run around three sides of the large single room and bear a passing resemblance to the windows of the old market building across the square. A chunky L-shaped servery stands on the rear wall with an attractive angular counter and smart modern bar back topped with some impressive large barrels. High stools and benches run down the left hand side of the room, whilst standard tables and chairs can be found on a raised platform to the front, with plenty of space left over for vertical drinking, mainly around a very large centrally positioned pillar which breaks the room up nicely and hints at the pub’s former layout. The room has a very high ceiling and not too much in the way of soft furnishing, which means it gets a bit loud at times and I noticed a great old jukebox in the front right corner, which presumably adds to the cacophony once in use. Otherwise the decor is fairly limited, with only a small collection of cuckoo clocks really catching the eye. There is a hatch to a kitchen in the rear left corner and the menu looked pretty good from what I saw of it. There was a nice ale selection on the bar with the inevitable Robinson’s beer – Unicorn, Dizzy Blonde, Trooper, Double Hop – joined by guests such as Titanic Plum Porter Grand Reserve, Potbelly Crazy Daze, Firebird Parody Session IPA and Harviestoun Old Engine Oil. The Plum Porter seemed universally popular but it’s a beer I’ve never really enjoyed, so I tried the Session IPA, which was a decent drop. The bar staff were very friendly and took a bit of time out to chat to us, as did a couple of the locals. This is a very smart and respectable pub of the sort you would easily be able to convince non-pub going friends and family to visit. I found the service and beer range to be its biggest attractions and given its central location, could imagine stopping by regularly if I lived locally.